Matrix Online: New Developer Interview

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Interview conducted by Allan "Delsyn" Rausch, 3/19/04

GameSpy: At the end of the final Matrix movie, there was several factions developing - humans who wished to be free of the Matrix, others who felt that the real world had nothing to offer, the Machines themselves who needed humans and didn't want to admit it and the rogue programs represented by the Merovingian. How will these sides interrelate to each other within the game and will they form "sides" that a players can choose to join or fight against?

Ragaini: Immediately following the end of Revolutions, there is a tense truce between Zion and the Machines. However, it is very much a cold war scenario. Neither of the sides trusts each other, and certain members of both Zion and the Machines may in fact be attempting to sabotage the fragile peace. The Merovingian, ever the opportunist, happily plays both sides against each other, all while further securing his own power base. Add this to the mix of independent operatives, rogue machine programs, and insane exiles and you begin to appreciate the delicate balance of power that exists in The Matrix. This is the state of the Matrix when the online game begins. Three powerful Organizations covertly struggle for control of the Matrix. Players must choose sides and decide which Organization they want to support.

GameSpy: Beyond the personal goals of gaining skills and abilities, how do you measure success in the game? What group/faction, political goals are there to strive for?

Ragaini: As you might imagine, knowledge is critical in The Matrix. What you know and who you know is as important as your physical power. Each of the Organizations has its own agenda that players of The Matrix Online (MxO) may choose to support or not. As a character successfully completes missions for a given Organization, the character's reputation in that Organization rises.

GameSpy: What kind of facilities and programs will be available for guilds? Will you be able to create shops or sub-worlds or your own niches within the Matrix?

Ragaini: Once a character's Reputation reaches a certain level, that character can become a Captain and form a Crew. Crews are small groups of players who share access to a hovercraft. The hovercraft in turn grants access to a whole host of character benefits. Crews can team up to form Factions. Factions are The Matrix Online's equivalent of Guilds and are directly loyal to one of the Organizations. Faction members receive many benefits, one of which is the ability to create a Construct. Constructs are small "pocket worlds" that players manage, customize, and defend.

GameSpy: In The Matrix movies, death in the Matrix meant death in the real world. How will death be handled in the The Matrix Online?

Ragaini: Character death is not permanent in MxO. Instead, safety protocols jack the character out of The Matrix at the last possible instant. This process is still disorienting and traumatic, temporarily reducing a character's effectiveness.

GameSpy: How often will the game be updated with new story elements, what kinds of mega-stories are you working on.and how can one character of a group of players impact the course of the story?

Ragaini: The Wachowski Brothers have created an entire new storyline for The Matrix Online, which will come out in regular episodic updates. There will be several ways that players can participate in the story, and we are working to insure that all players can contribute, regardless of their character's capability. And yes, at the highest level of the story arcs, individual players will dramatically impact the resolution of the events. The specifics of the story arcs are of course closely guarded. I can say, however, that the major characters from the films appear in game's story. In effect, MxO is the fourth installment in The Matrix ongoing saga.

GameSpy: Will player actions have visible repercussions on the world of the Matrix? If you're fighting against the machines during a story arc, is it possible to "liberate" a section of the Matrix in which case - what happens to that area?

Ragaini: Yes, we've implemented a mission structure where player's actions have definite repercussions in the game world. These missions allow us to focus the experience on your mission team so that griefers cannot interfere with you. In many cases, though, the aggregate behavior of many players performing many missions will move the story in a specific direction.

GameSpy: Will we be able to travel to any (in-Matrix) location we've seen in the movies such as the Merovingian's castle/Initech/the Freeway/the Architect's room/the Oracle's apartment? Will there be countryside as well as city locations?

Ragaini: Monolith has worked closely with the filmmakers' entire creative team and players will see familiar locations throughout The Matrix Online.

GameSpy: One of the often unsung elements of the Matrix trilogy was the incredible outfits the characters wore? What kind of player facial & body customization options are there and what clothing will characters be able to acquire and will your clothes have any in-game effects beyond the ability to just make you look good?

Ragaini: Character customization is a big part of The Matrix Online. Each character has a range of clothing options along with various forms of body decoration and customization. Beyond just looking the part, many clothing items can be fitted with special Code Augmentations that provide performance enhancements and special abilities.

GameSpy: How interactive will the combat be? Will we be able to do more than just click and watch our characters perform kung-fu moves and how are you planning Bullet Time(tm)?

Ragaini: Combat in The Matrix Online uses a game system called Interlock. Interlock allows characters to perform intricately choreographed combat maneuvers that look exactly like the kind of wire-fu depicted in The Matrix films. During Interlock combat, players have the opportunity to optimize their fighting technique by managing their move-by-move combat tactics, and performing combos and other special maneuvers. This is definitely not "click and watch" and for best results requires a reasonable amount of user input. In creating Interlock, we made sure to include Bullet Time. Bullet Time creates dramatic tension and calls out particularly important moments of combat. For example, Bullet Time often kicks in when you've landed the killing blow on a tough opponent.

GameSpy: Will Player vs. Player combat be on at all times? How do you plan on handling PvP combat?

Ragaini: PvP combat is an important game component of The Matrix Online; we're currently tuning our systems and look forward to discussing it more soon.